Dragonslayer’s Class Regression 23

Chapter 23

When Liam heard Zeke’s words, he immediately knelt down.

“Lord Zeke. Please give me one more chance.”

Zeke slowly approached Liam.

Looking down at Liam, he said,

“Why should I do that?”

“I will follow any of your orders. Please give me one more chance.”

Zeke said to Liam,

“Will you really follow all of my orders?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Then cut off your right arm.”

At that moment, Liam raised his head and looked up at Zeke.

Zeke said with a cold expression:

“Didn’t you say you would do anything?”

At those words, Liam looked down at his right arm.

Even if he cut it off, he could reattach it by quickly going to a healer, but recovery potions weren’t omnipotent.

Especially with the right arm, in the worst case, if even one nerve went wrong, he might not be able to hold a sword.

Trembling, Liam picked up the fallen sword.

He gripped the sword while sweating cold sweat.

Liam looked at Zeke and said:

“If I follow your command, will you accept me?”

“Yes.”

“I understand.”

Suddenly Liam’s expression changed.

With a hardened face, he gripped the sword with his left hand and swung it down at his right arm.

Slash!

An unpleasant sound pierced the ears.

Liam looked at his right arm.

“Huh?”

He clearly swung the sword at his arm but it was fine.

This time he looked at his sword.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t his arm that was cut but the sword.

The broken blade was in Zeke’s hand.

“You fool. What were you thinking, swinging the sword recklessly without knowing if I would accept you after cutting off your arm?”

Zeke threw the broken blade.

The blade embedded deeply into the wall made of solid stone.

This skill was only possible for purple-ranked knights who could infuse aura into weapons.

‘Lord Zeke has already surpassed the purple rank’

Zeke said to Liam in a low voice.

“If you do something this foolish again, forget about loyalty oaths or anything else, Understood?”

Liam said with an excited expression:

“Then, does this mean you’ll accept me?”

“I’ll watch you.”

“Thank you! Thank you, my lord! I will serve you with absolute loyalty!”

Zeke smiled bitterly watching Liam willingly bow his head before him.

After taking Liam back to the reception room, he had a servant bring warm tea.

Sitting on the sofa, he said to Liam:

“So what is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“The reason why you have to go this far.”

He looked at Liam with sharp eyes and said:

“Is there someone sick in your family?”

At those words, Liam was startled and looked at Zeke.

“H-how did you know?”

Even Zeke himself didn’t know he would guess correctly right away after piecing together various circumstances.

Zeke nodded.

“So it was true. There are various benefits to entering Valhalla. Medical benefits are among them.”

Those from Valhalla receive the best treatment on the continent.

And those benefits extend not only to them but also to their families.

Medical benefits were included among them.

The medical technology of the Draker family, which owned the largest general hospital on the continent, was one of the things that the proud Rom Empire coveted.

Liam bowed his head deeply and said:

“I recently received news that my mother collapsed.”

“So you wanted to enter Valhalla to receive medical benefits.”

“Yes. She’s my mother who struggled to raise me alone. Because our family fortunes declined, we can’t even afford proper medicine, so I absolutely want to enter Valhalla to get her proper treatment.”

Who knew the future Mercenary King was such a filial son.

But separate from that, he was quite naive about the ways of the world.

“You fool. When do you think you can enter Valhalla and treat your mother’s illness?”

Since he was still a first-year student, even with early graduation it would take 2 more years before he could qualify to enter Valhalla.

Moreover, not just anyone could enter Valhalla just by graduating.

At Zeke’s criticism, Liam clenched his fist.

“The illness doesn’t respond to normal treatment, so I had no choice. All the healers I called couldn’t properly identify what illness it was. Since it seems only the Draker family’s medical technology can handle it, and it doesn’t seem immediately critical, this was the conclusion I reached after much deliberation.”

Zeke’s expression subtly changed upon hearing those words.

“This illness. Does it have red spots on the body and periodic high fever symptoms?”

Liam was startled by Zeke’s words.

“How did you know?”

‘Ah, should I call this lucky or not.’

The illness Liam’s mother had contracted would become a major epidemic in the Central Continent 5 years from now.

Though the mortality rate wasn’t high, its high infectiousness meant many people would contract it, with mainly the elderly and children with weak immune systems losing their lives.

‘It was called the Hong-hwa disease.’

It was named for the red fever flowers that bloomed on faces.

In his past life, a cure was only developed after many people died, finally allowing the situation to stabilize.

And fortunately, Zeke knew how to make the cure for Hong-hwa disease.

Zeke said to Liam:

“Well, that doesn’t matter. How long have the symptoms been showing?”

“It’s been about a week.”

‘’We need to act quickly before treatment becomes difficult.’’

Zeke immediately ordered Decker to combine the necessary medicinal ingredients to make medicine for Hong-hwa disease and send it to the Stone family.

“If you take the medicine for about two months, you’ll get better.”

While other healers had given up on the disease, Zeke not only identified the symptoms just by hearing the situation but also swiftly prepared the treatment medicine.

In Liam’s eyes, Zeke was practically a god.

“Thank you! Thank you, my lord! I will serve you with complete loyalty.”

“That’s expected since you made the oath. I’ll discard you immediately if you become a nuisance, so do well.”

This is how Liam Stone, the future Mercenary King, became Zeke Draker’s first subordinate.

* * *

“Time’s up. Everyone submit.”

The chivalry liberal arts theory exam ended.

Theory subjects weren’t a problem for Zeke.

The real challenge began with the practical exam.

The first practical exam was held outside the academy.

The test involved hunting monsters in a test dungeon in pairs of two, combining both special and regular classes.

Most academy students gathered in front of the test dungeon showed somewhat tense expressions.

In contrast, students with family backing were more relaxed.

They had already practiced dungeon exploration methods, monster handling, and ways to earn bonus points with their family’s help.

Among the students showing various reactions, Zeke and Liam also stood in front of the dungeon waiting their turn.

Then someone approached from behind.

“Now, this is unexpected. Zeke Draker and Liam Stone as a team?”

The unpleasant, petty tone of voice was somehow familiar.

Turning around, sure enough, Jacken Valdek stood there with his group.

Zeke ignored Jacken and focused on checking his equipment.

Watching Zeke, Jacken said:

“Zeke Draker, have you ever seen a monster even once?”

At those words, Zeke raised his head and glared at Jacken.

“Stop being annoying and go away.”

Jacken smiled at Zeke’s words, raising the corner of his mouth.

“They say most people wet themselves when they first see monsters. Zeke, I look forward to seeing how you’ll react.”

Then the instructor’s voice was heard.

“Zeke Draker! Liam Stone! Enter!”

The two entered where the instructor pointed among dozens of split dungeon entrances.

Other families don’t conduct such dangerous training for thirteen-year-olds.

But this was House Draker.

This was possible because it was a place where such crazy acts were commonly perpetrated.

The dungeon exploration exam took four days.

The goal of this practical exam was not just to catch monsters but to safely escape the maze-like dungeon.

Zeke and Liam slowly went deep into the dungeon.

And Zeke found his way by checking traces secretly marked throughout the dungeon.

Liam was surprised watching Zeke.

‘Has my lord done dungeon exploration before?’

Liam was still not used to this sudden change in Zeke, who had mostly shown inadequate performance in the cradle.

After walking through the dark cave for several hours, a huge cavity appeared inside.

Zeke touched and smelled the moss on the cavity walls and the soil on the floor.

“Let’s rest here for a while.”

He took out equipment brought from the Dragon Slayer’s tomb and made a temporary base camp.

He set up a simple tent to block moisture and laid wire around for security.

Liam approached awkwardly, watching Zeke skillfully set up camp.

“I-I’ll do it.”

“It’s fine. I’ll handle this, so go gather suitable-sized stones from around here. Let’s make a hearth and cook something.”

The most important thing in dungeon exploration was managing stamina.

Although Zeke had the infinite stamina skill, anything could happen in a dungeon, so carelessness was forbidden.

When Liam brought the stones, Zeke arranged them and installed a magic tool that emitted heat inside.

Being an ancient item, its performance was very good.

Zeke took out convenience food he had packed in his inventory and heated it on the hearth.

“Here, try it.”

Liam drank the soup Zeke handed him.

It was unbelievably delicious for something made in a dungeon.

“It’s extremely delicious, my lord.”

This taste was possible because it was convenience food that had been specially ordered from the Platinum Lounge and frozen immediately before being put in the inventory.

Food that goes into the inventory can be preserved as is, so you could taste the soup exactly as it was just by heating it up.

Zeke and Liam took a short rest at their established base camp after having a proper meal.

They took turns standing guard and watching their surroundings while recovering their strength, then explored deeper into the dungeon.

Zeke turned on the mini-map to check if the markings and paths in the cave matched.

Then at some point, Zeke noticed something strange and tilted his head.

‘’The direction other students are going is completely opposite to the direction we’re going.’’

The mini-map showed the locations of other students, with their red dots clustered on the left path.

However, the path where Zeke and Liam were was marked to keep going only to the right.

Zeke noticed something suspicious.

‘’Don’t tell me they’ve already made their move.’’

“Grrrr!”

At that moment, a strange sound suddenly came from inside the cave.

Detecting it, Zeke said to Liam.

“Liam, turn off the light.”

Despite the dark cave, Liam didn’t question Zeke’s order to turn off the light and immediately did so.

After turning off the light, Zeke focused on his sense of smell.

‘’This smell…? Sulfur?’’

Zeke had extensive experience hunting magical beasts due to missions, to the point his teeth would grind.

‘’Why are there traces of hellhounds in a test dungeon?’’

Hellhounds, also known as hell dogs, were classified as a very dangerous type of monster even among adventurers.

They had keen senses, moved in packs, and persistently chased their prey until successful in hunting, making escape difficult.

‘’They couldn’t have put hellhounds as test monsters, could they?’’

Even for the crazy Draker family, that would be going too far.

Just then, something caught Zeke’s senses.

“Liam, be on guard.”

Zeke warned Liam in a low voice.

He took the lead with his sword drawn.

“Kirruk!”

Just then, a gremlin hiding behind a rock jumped out.

Whoosh!

Zeke swung his sword and immediately split the gremlin’s body.

Thud!

The severed gremlin body fell to the ground.

Liam also handled the gremlins jumping out from other places well, blocking and dealing with them with his sword without tension.

With their skills, the two could handle gremlins easily as long as they stayed alert.

But then.

THUMP! THUMP!

Another sound was heard from inside the cave.

Zeke realized the gremlins were running away from whatever monster was making this sound.

At the same time, something black suddenly darted toward where Zeke was.

Clang!

As Zeke expected, a hellhound appeared and suddenly lunged.

Liam was startled and tried to go help Zeke.

But Zeke’s sword struck down right on the hellhound’s head.

Slash!

With the powerful strike, the hellhound’s head and body were immediately separated and fell.

At the same time, text appeared before Zeke’s eyes.

[You have killed a hellhound. You gain 15 Karma points.]

“Liam, turn on the light.”

At Zeke’s command, Liam immediately turned on the magic light.

A quite large hellhound lay fallen with its head severed.

Then Zeke discovered something on the hellhound.

“Oh no…”

“What’s wrong?”

Zeke pointed to the hellhound’s belly.

There were marks where something had eaten it.

“I thought it was moving a bit slowly.”

Kuguuuuu!

The vibration rang out again.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Something massive that shook the entire cave approached.

Seeing what it was, Liam was shocked.

“T-Troll?”

A high-risk grade monster that could easily tear apart hellhounds for exercise – one with a huge build and excellent recovery ability, synonymous with medium-sized monsters – had appeared before them.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​